Method and system for authorizing card account transactions by geographic design

ABSTRACT

A method and system for authorizing card account transactions by geographic region by providing data for a user interface displaying geographic regions and merchant locations each corresponding to the location of a merchant where a transaction using a card account may be initiated, receiving a user interface selection representing a request to authorize or restrict card account transactions, receiving authorization requests for desired transactions, and authorizing or restricting the transactions in accordance with the request.

CROSS REFERENCE

This application claims priority to pending application Ser. No.12/031,446, filed Feb. 14, 2008, the contents of which are herebyincorporated by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a method and system for authorizingcard account transactions by geographic region.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Identity theft and data breach are significant concerns for manycustomers, particularly those who use credit cards regularly and thosewho engage in online transactions. Customers need confidence that theircard accounts will not be fraudulently used without their permission,but often lack direct control over exactly how and when their cardaccounts may be used. For example, a customer may know that he or shewill never travel to a particular foreign country and therefore want hisor her card to be restricted from use in that country, but lack thecapability to do so. Conversely, a customer may have upcoming plans totravel to a specific foreign country and need to only authorize use ofhis or her card for that limited period of time. Customers may also wantto allow or prohibit transactions involving specific merchants. Forexample, a customer may have a moral or ethical objection to patronizingcertain businesses. A customer may also know that he or she will neverspend a large sum of money at a particular merchant such thattransactions over that limit would ideally be rejected. There may existmany other situations as well where a customer might want to limittransactions in particular geographic regions and merchant locations butlack the capability to do so.

These and other drawbacks exist with current systems.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Various exemplary embodiments provide for authorizing card accounttransactions by geographic region. A customer may establish one or moreaccounts with a particular card issuer and receive an associated card,such as a credit card, that the customer may use to make purchases orperform other financial transactions. The customer may desire to preventothers who might come into possession of the customer's card or cardnumber from fraudulently making purchases on his or her account. To doso, the card issuer (or any other entity involved in handling and/orprocessing transactions) may allow the customer to selectively choosethrough an interactive user interface the geographic regions andmerchant locations which the customer desires to authorize or restrict.In that way, the customer may prevent unauthorized use of his or heraccount and realize an added level of account security.

Various exemplary embodiments may provide a method for authorizing cardaccount transactions by geographic region. Data may be provided for auser interface displaying a plurality of geographic regions and merchantlocations where a transaction using the customer's account potentiallymay be performed. A user interface selection may then be receivedrepresenting a request to authorize or restrict particular transactions.During the authorization or settlement phase of a later transaction, itmay be determined whether to allow or deny the transaction by, forexample, comparing the geographic region and identification of themerchant that submitted the authorization request to a database ofauthorization and restriction entries for the customer's account. Ifthere is no applicable restriction, or the customer has specificallyauthorized the transaction, the transaction may be allowed. If not, thetransaction may be denied.

Various exemplary embodiments may also provide a system for authorizingcard account transactions by geographic region, including an interfacemodule for providing data for a user interface that may allow thecustomer to selectively choose geographic regions and merchantlocations. The system may also include a user interface communicationmodule to receive a user interface selection, as well as a transactionprocessing module and an authorization module for acting on subsequentauthorization requests for attempted transactions.

Other embodiments are also within the scope of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention, together with further objects and advantages, maybest be understood by reference to the following description taken inconjunction with the accompanying drawings, in the several Figures ofwhich like reference numerals identify like elements, and in which:

FIG. 1 depicts an exemplary embodiment of a system for authorizing cardaccount transactions by geographic region according to variousembodiments of the disclosure;

FIG. 2 depicts an exemplary user interface for authorizing card accounttransactions by geographic region according to various embodiments ofthe disclosure;

FIG. 3 depicts an exemplary user interface for authorizing card accounttransactions by geographic region according to various embodiments ofthe disclosure;

FIG. 4 depicts an exemplary user interface for authorizing card accounttransactions by geographic region according to various embodiments ofthe disclosure;

FIG. 5 depicts an exemplary database table for use in authorizing cardaccount transactions by geographic region according to variousembodiments of the disclosure;

FIG. 6 depicts a flow chart which illustrates an exemplary method forauthorizing card account transactions by geographic region according tovarious embodiments of the disclosure; and

FIG. 7 depicts an exemplary system for authorizing card accounttransactions by geographic region according to various embodiments ofthe disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENT(S)

The following description is intended to convey a thorough understandingof the embodiments described by providing a number of specificembodiments and details involving systems and methods for providingcredit to a customer based on the customer's preliminary use of anaccount. It should be appreciated, however, that the present disclosureis not limited to these specific embodiments and details, which areexemplary only. It is further understood that one possessing ordinaryskill in the art, in light of known systems and methods, wouldappreciate the use of the invention for its intended purposes andbenefits in any number of alternative embodiments, depending on specificdesign and other needs.

Various exemplary embodiments provide for authorizing card accounttransactions by geographic region. As used herein, a geographic regionmay include, for example, any area, region, locality, or physical zoneat any level, including, for example, a street, neighborhood, zip code,county, state, province, country, or continent.

FIG. 1 depicts an exemplary embodiment of a system 100 for authorizingcard account transactions by geographic region according to variousembodiments of the disclosure. System 100 may involve a customer 101, amerchant 103, a merchant processor 104, a card association 105, and/or acard issuer 106.

System 100 may include one or more network-enabled computers to processinstructions for authorizing card account transactions by geographicregion. As referred to herein, a network-enabled computer may include,but is not limited to: e.g., any computer device, or communicationsdevice including, e.g., a server, a network appliance, a personalcomputer (PC), a workstation, a mobile device, a phone, a handheld PC, apersonal digital assistant (PDA), a thin client, a fat client, anInternet browser, or other device. The one or more network-enabledcomputers of system 100 may execute one or more software applicationsto, for example, receive data as input from an entity accessing thenetwork-enabled computer, process received data, transmit data over anetwork, and receive data over a network. The one or morenetwork-enabled computers may also include one or more softwareapplications to enable the processing of a card transaction.

The components depicted in FIG. 1 may be coupled via one or morenetworks. As referred to herein, a network may include, but is notlimited to: e.g., a wide area network (WAN), a local area network (LAN),a global network such as the Internet, a telephone network such as apublic switch telephone network, a wireless communication network, acellular network, an intranet, or the like, or any combination thereof.In various exemplary embodiments, the network may include one, or anynumber of the exemplary types of networks mentioned above, operating asa stand alone network or in cooperation with each other. Use of the termnetwork herein is not intended to limit the network to a single network.The components depicted in FIG. 1 may communicate by electronictransmission through the one or more networks mentioned above, byphysical delivery, or by any other communication mechanism.Communication between two components depicted in FIG. 1 may also includecommunication with any other entities between the two components.

In various exemplary embodiments, customer 101 may be any individual orentity that has an account with card issuer 106 or desires to have anaccount with card issuer 106. As used herein, the term account mayinclude any place, location, object, entity, or other mechanism forholding money or performing monetary transactions in any form,including, without limitation, electronic form. An account may be, forexample, a prepaid card account, stored value card account, debit cardaccount, check card account, payroll card account, gift card account,prepaid credit card account, charge card account, checking account,rewards account, line of credit account, or credit account. Card issuer106 may be, for example, a bank, other type of financial institution, orany other entity that offers accounts to customers.

Customer 101 may also desire to conduct financial transactions with oneor more merchants using his or her account with card issuer 106. Forexample, customer 101 may desire to purchase goods or services from amerchant. To do so, customer 101 may use a unique account identifierassociated with the customer's account, which may be any sequence ofletters, numbers, characters, or symbols of any length and may beassociated with a payment mechanism, including, without limitation, acredit card, debit card, smart card, charge card, or any other mechanismfor making payment. The payment mechanism may be issued to customer 101by card issuer 106. For example, customer 101 may be issued a creditcard that allows customer 101 to make purchases on credit up to aspecified dollar limit and repay card issuer 106 for those purchasesover time by making monthly payments. Card issuer 106 may pay for thepurchases of customer 101 at the time of purchase on behalf of customer101 and charge customer 101 interest for using its credit services.Also, customer 101 may use a charge card wherein the balance of thecustomer's card may be paid off monthly. Also, customer 101 may use adebit card wherein amounts for the purchases may be electronicallydebited from a checking or other account held by customer 101 at cardissuer 106.

Card issuer 106 (or any other entity depicted in FIG. 1) may store theaccount identifier associated with the customer's account, along withany other information associated with customer 101, his or heraccount(s), or financial transactions involving the account(s), in anelectronic storage medium. It is well-known in the art that electronicfiles and documents may be stored in various ways, including, forexample, a flat file, indexed file, hierarchical database, relationaldatabase, such as a database created and maintained with software from,for example, Oracle® Corporation, Microsoft® Excel file, Microsoft®Access file, or any other storage mechanism.

The account identifier of the customer's account may also be associatedwith card association 105, which may administer cards and act as agateway between card issuer 106 and a merchant from which customer 101desires to make a purchase for processing card transactions. Exemplarycard associations may include, without limitation, Visa®, MasterCard®,American Express®, and Discover®.

Merchant 103 may be any entity capable of accepting an accountidentifier as payment. Merchant 103 may receive payments for themerchant's card transactions in various ways, such as a bank accountheld by merchant 103. For example, merchant 103 may establish a directdeposit account or checking account at a bank. Also, merchant processor104 may process transactions on behalf of merchant 103.

In various exemplary embodiments, customer 101 may begin by establishingan account with card issuer 106. Customer 101 may establish a creditaccount with a particular account number and receive a correspondingVisa® credit card displaying that number, which he or she may then useto make purchases on credit. It will be recognized, however, that anytype of account, card, or identifier may be used, as described herein.

Upon establishing the account, customer 101 may use the associatedaccount identifier and/or card to purchase goods and services from, orconduct any other type of financial transaction with, any merchant inany geographic region. This may be the “default” setting for newaccounts with card issuer 106. To make a purchase, customer 101 may, forexample and without limitation, swipe his or her credit card in personat the location of a merchant using a register, card payment terminal,or point of sale (POS) system, which may read the account identifierfrom the magnetic stripe on the card. Also, the account identifier maybe provided via a bar code on the card. Also, the account identifier maybe provided via radio-frequency identification (RFID) or other automaticidentification mechanisms. Various mechanisms for accepting an accountidentifier as payment will be recognized by those skilled in the art,including, for example, transaction processing equipment and softwareprovided by, for example, VeriFone, Inc. of San Jose, Calif. Also,customer 101 may provide a merchant with the account identifier over thetelephone or using a computer. For example, customer 101 may make apurchase electronically by entering his or her account identifier and/orother information associated with the desired purchase on the World WideWeb (WWW) site of a merchant, a site accessible via a network, or anyother site accessible by a communication mechanism. Various mechanismsfor conducting online transactions will be recognized by those skilledin the art. Customer 101 may also make a purchase electronically usingvarious payment services, such as, for example, PayPal®.

Customer 101, however, may for various reasons desire to allow onlycertain transactions with his or her account, such as transactions withparticular merchants or transactions in a particular geographic region.It will be understood that there may be many reasons why customer 101may desire to have only certain transactions authorized. For example, ifcustomer 101 knows that he or she will never travel to a particularcountry or state, customer 101 may desire to prohibit charges in thatregion and thereby prevent criminals from fraudulently using his or hercard there. Conversely, if customer 101 desires to travel to aparticular foreign country or city (e.g., Costa Rica, London), customer101 may desire to specifically authorize transactions in that region fora set period of time to ensure that he or she can use the card withoutproblems while traveling abroad. Also, customer 101 may have recentlynoticed a false charge on his or her account statement that was made inan unusual location (for example, after being notified of the unusualcharge by card issuer 106) and may want to prevent similar charges fromoccurring in the future. Customer 101 may likewise desire to authorizeonly transactions with certain merchants or at certain merchantlocations. For example, customer 101 may periodically allow his or herchild to charge items with the customer's card, or may hold the accounton behalf of a child, and desire to prevent transactions with merchantsdeemed unsuitable for minors (e.g., merchants that sell alcohol ortobacco). Also, if customer 101 knows that he or she will never spendmore than $1000 at a particular retail store location (e.g., theWal-Mart® store on Main Street), he or she may want to prohibittransactions over 1000 at that merchant location. Authorizing onlytransactions that customer 101 permits in advance, while restrictingothers, may be an efficient and accurate way of preventing identitytheft and give customers an added sense of security when using a cardfor everyday purchases.

In various exemplary embodiments, customer 101 may provide informationto card issuer 106 to authorize certain transactions and prohibitothers, as described herein. For example, customer 101 may communicatewith card issuer 106 by telephone via a Voice Response Unit (“VRU”), bymail, by electronic transmission at a retail location, by electronictransmission from a wireless/mobile device, or by electronictransmission from a personal computer. Customer 101 may also execute aweb browser program on a computer to connect to a server of card issuer106 (e.g., via the Internet) and request the Uniform Resource Locator(URL) of a web page from the server. The server may receive thecustomer's request, process the request, retrieve or create therequested web page, and transmit the requested web page to the computerof customer 101. The customer's web browser program may then receive theweb page and render it on the customer's computer screen. Customer 101may interact with the web page by, for example, clicking on buttons oractivating links associated with the web page or entering informationwith a keyboard. The web browser may interpret this interaction and sendinformation to the server for authorizing only certain transactions asinstructed by customer 101. Examples of commercial web browser programssuitable for this purpose are Internet Explorer available fromMicrosoft® Corporation, Netscape Navigator available from Netscape®Communications, Safari® available from Apple®, Inc., and Firefox®available from Mozilla Corporation. The web pages described above maybe, for example, HTML (Hypertext Markup Language), XML (ExtensibleMarkup Language), ASP (Active Server Page), Java, Javascript, XHTML(Extensible HyperText Markup Language), or Ajax (Asynchronous JavaScriptand XML) files, or any other file format that allows web pages orportions of web pages to be rendered in a web browser. It will berecognized by those skilled in the art that various tools are readilyavailable to create and render web pages.

As described in greater detail below, customer 101 and card issuer 106may interact via an interactive user interface provided by, for example,card issuer 106. Card issuer 106 may retrieve data from an electronicstorage medium to build a user interface for customer 101 based on anaccount identifier provided by the customer. In various exemplaryembodiments, the data may include information regarding customer 101 andhis or her account (e.g., name, address, phone number, account type,account number, card type, expiration date, card association),information regarding any previous authorizations or restrictionsrequested by customer 101, as well as any type of web page functionality(e.g., images, text boxes, radio buttons, icons, drop-down menus) torender a web page as a user interface. The data may also include anyparameters set by customer 101 for customizing his or her own userinterface.

The data used to build the user interface may also include informationregarding merchants, merchant locations (e.g., names, addresses, phonenumbers, location codes), and cartographic information (e.g., citynames, street names, map images). In various exemplary embodiments, cardissuer 106 may receive a list of all merchants where it is possible fora transaction to be initiated using the customer's account. For example,card issuer 106 may receive a list of all merchants authorized to acceptVisa® credit cards from Visa® or from any other entity with access tosuch information, such as a merchant processor or merchants themselves.The list may include the identification of merchants as well asaddresses for particular locations of those merchants (e.g., Wal-Mart®and individual Wal-Mart® store addresses). Because such data may bevoluminous, card issuer 106 may receive the data in portions over time(e.g., by geographic region) or as necessary (e.g., through as-neededrequests to a card association) or whenever data for a particularmerchant or merchant location changes. Card issuer 106 may then populatea database or data warehouse, for example, with entries for allpotential merchants and merchant locations. Also, card issuer 106 maystore incoming data for a merchant or merchant location whenever atransaction is submitted for authorization or settlement, as describedin further detail below. For example, a merchant's name and address maybe included in a typical authorization request. Card issuer 106, inaddition to assessing the request to determine whether to authorize thetransaction, may copy the incoming information. In that way, whenever atransaction is attempted with the customer's account, card issuer 106may recognize another merchant and/or merchant location and add it to agrowing list for later use, as described herein.

Cartographic information may also be received and stored by card issuer106, which may then execute processes to correlate addresses in themerchant information to locations and map images in the cartographicinformation. For example, an address of “11 Main Street” for aparticular merchant may have an association in a database with variousmap images of the country, state, county, zip code, and/or neighborhoodwhere 11 Main Street is located, as well as a pinpoint location withinthose images for the address. It will be recognized by those of skill inthe art that because street names and other address information are notalways uniformly written (e.g., “11 Main Street,” “11 Main St.”),various processes may be conducted to parse or filter the data and makethe necessary associations. Also, the cartographic information may bereceived from any provider of such information and may be receivedelectronically or in written form and scanned into an electronic storagemechanism.

Card issuer 106 may then generate the user interface based on theretrieved information and provide it to customer 101, as indicated byarrow 121 in FIG. 1. For example, card issuer 106 may transmit web pagedata to the customer's web browser for display on the customer'scomputer screen. Also, card issuer 106 may display a user interface on aterminal screen at a branch location operated by card issuer 106, on awireless/mobile device, or on an Automated Teller Machine (“ATM”). Also,the card issuer 106 may display a user interface on a computer screenshown to an employee of the card issuer 106 who may assist a customer inestablishing authorizations and restrictions over the telephone. Theuser interface may include functionality for customer 101 to authorizetransactions by geographic region, as shown in FIGS. 2-4 and discussedin greater detail below.

Using the user interface, customer 101 may provide information to cardissuer 106 requesting that only certain transactions be authorized, asindicated by arrow 120. In various exemplary embodiments, the requestmay comprise a geographic region, merchant, or merchant locationselected using the user interface. For example, customer 101 mayinstruct card issuer 106 that future transactions in a particulargeographic region should not be allowed by selecting that region in theuser interface. Also, customer 101 may instruct card issuer 106 thattransactions involving a particular merchant or transactions at aparticular merchant location should not be authorized by makingcorresponding selections in the user interface.

The customer's request may also comprise parameters for theauthorization and restriction of transactions. For example, customer 101may provide a time and date to begin authorizing and restrictingtransactions (e.g., an effective date), a time and date to endauthorizing and restricting transactions (e.g., a termination date),dates for when transactions should be authorized or restricted (e.g.,transactions occurring on the last day of each month), a list of whattypes of transactions should be authorized or restricted (e.g.,purchases, charges, cash advances, withdrawals, cash withdrawals at anATM, loans, payments, bill payments, debits, credits, deposits, ordirect deposits), amounts of transactions that should be authorized orrestricted (e.g., all transactions over $1000, all transactions between$100 and $500), or specific cards to which the authorization orrestriction should apply (e.g., if multiple cards are associated with aparticular account identifier, such as in the case where a family hasmultiple cards for the same account). As indicated by arrow 122, cardissuer 106 may in response provide to customer 101 (e.g., by web page,by text message, by mail) an acknowledgement that transactions will beauthorized and restricted in the requested manner in the future, or mayrequest any further information necessary for complying with thecustomer's request. Card issuer 106 may also ensure the customer'ssecurity by, for example, requiring customer 101 to authenticate himselfor herself (e.g., with a username and password) or sign a writtendocument prior to implementing a request.

It will be recognized that the information provided by customer 101 maycomprise either, or both of, a request to authorize particulartransactions or a request to restrict particular transactions. Cardissuer 106 may present a “default” setting whereby transactions in allgeographic regions and with all merchants and all merchant locations areinitially allowed; the status of these geographic regions, merchants,and merchant locations may be designated, for example, as “allowed.”Customer 101 may then modify those settings by requesting variousrestrictions over time; their status may then be changed to“restricted.” Also, card issuer 106 may present the opposite “default”setting for customers who are particularly concerned about security. Inthat case, the “default” setting may be for all transactions to be“restricted” and the customer may then authorize some transactions bychanging their status to “allowed,” as described herein.

It will also be understood that the requested authorization andrestriction need not be performed by card issuer 106 and may beperformed by any other entity involved in handling and/or processingfinancial transactions, including card association 105, merchantprocessor 104, or merchant 103 depicted in FIG. 1. In those cases,customer 101 (and/or card issuer 106) may provide information forperforming the requested authorization and restriction, as describedherein, to that respective entity so that the entity can act inaccordance with the customer's request or pass along information to yetanother entity that may act on the customer's request.

Once a request for authorization or restriction is received, card issuer106 may use that information to authorize and restrict particulartransactions as they occur. For example, when an attempted transactionis initiated using the customer's account identifier and/or card, suchas a purchase of goods or services from merchant 103, the transactionmay need to be authorized by various entities and payment made for thetransaction, as described in further detail below. It will be recognizedby those skilled in the art that in at least some exemplary financialtransactions (e.g., credit card transactions), there may be at least twophases: authorization and settlement. In the authorization phase, amerchant may perform various actions to find out whether a customer'sdesired transaction is valid (e.g., if the customer has sufficient fundsin his or her account or sufficient credit available to make aparticular purchase). If the transaction is valid, the merchant mayreceive payment for the transaction in the settlement phase (e.g., fromthe customer's card issuer). Each phase will be discussed in referenceto FIG. 1.

Authorization Phase:

As indicated by arrow 107, customer 101 may provide merchant 103 withhis or her account identifier (e.g., by swiping a credit card) topurchase desired goods or services or conduct another type of financialtransaction with merchant 103. After receiving the account identifierfrom customer 101, merchant 103 may begin the process of attempting toauthorize the desired transaction by providing an authorization requestto merchant processor 104, as indicated by arrow 108. The authorizationrequest may include, for example, information associated with the amountof the desired transaction, the account identifier used for thetransaction, information associated with requesting merchant 103 (e.g.,a merchant identifier, address, phone number), and/or any otherinformation associated with customer 101, merchant 103, or transaction.In various exemplary embodiments, merchant 103 may transmit theauthorization request to merchant processor 104 electronically over oneor more networks.

In various exemplary embodiments, merchant processor 104 may have apredefined relationship, agreement, or arrangement with merchant 103 toauthorize and settle card transactions on behalf of merchant 103.Merchant processor 104 may process transactions for a plurality ofmerchants and a plurality of customers. For example, TSYS AcquiringSolutions, LLC (TSYS), which those skilled in the art will recognize asan entity that authorizes and settles card transactions, may operate asmerchant processor 104.

As indicated by arrow 109, merchant processor 104 may provide theauthorization request, or any other authorization data, to cardassociation 105 associated with the account identifier of customer 101.For example, if customer 101 attempted to pay for a purchase with aVisa® credit card, the authorization request may be routed to Visa®. Ifcustomer 101 attempted to pay for a purchase with a MasterCard® creditcard, the authorization request may be routed to MasterCard®. Cardassociation 105 may perform various actions to verify that the desiredtransaction may be completed, including, for example, verifying thatthere may not have been a temporary or permanent hold placed on the cardor verifying that one or more predetermined fraud parameters may nothave been triggered. For example, card association 105 may verify thatthe amount of the desired transaction is not unusually large based onthe customer's recent purchases.

As indicated by arrow 110, card association 105 may provide theauthorization request, or any other authorization data, such as, forexample, information associated with verification of customer 101 ortransaction, as described herein, to card issuer 106 that issued thecard to customer 101. For example, if customer 101 obtained his or hercard from a bank, that bank may act as card issuer 106. Card issuer 106may perform various actions to verify that the desired transaction maybe completed, including, for example, verifying that the accountidentifier is valid and/or verifying that the desired purchase is withinthe credit or debit limit available to customer 101.

Card issuer 106 may also determine whether customer 101 has requestedany authorizations or restrictions that might apply to the pendingtransaction. The process may involve searching a database table forauthorizations and restrictions requested by customer 101, as describedherein and in reference to FIG. 5. For example, card issuer 106 mayextract the address of merchant 103 from the received authorizationdata, determine a set of geographic regions associated with the address(e.g., street, neighborhood, zip code, county, state, province, country,continent), and determine whether any of those geographic regions arerestricted for the account of customer 101 (e.g., a city may berestricted, but the state in which it is a part may not be). Card issuer106 may also extract the name of merchant 103, or a merchant identifier(e.g., a sequence of letters, numbers, characters, or symbols of anylength) associated with merchant 103, from the received authorizationrequest and determine whether merchant 103 or the location of merchant103 is restricted for the customer's account. Card issuer 106 may alsoconduct further processing to compare the desired transaction (e.g.,amount, date) to any parameters associated with the authorizations orrestrictions (e.g., maximum amount, designated time period).

Card issuer 106 may then create an authorization message approving ordenying the transaction. If customer 101 has not requested anyrestriction that would apply to the pending transaction, or hasrequested an authorization that would apply to the pending transaction,the transaction may be approved. If, however, customer 101 has requesteda restriction that would apply to the pending transaction, thetransaction may be denied. The fact that a transaction was attempted butdenied as restricted may indicate potential fraudulent use of thecustomer's account, in which case card issuer 106 may alert customer101, merchant 103 (who may question the individual attempting to makethe transaction at the point-of-sale), or appropriate law enforcementauthorities or other entities. If, for example, customer 101 is theindividual attempting to conduct the transaction, customer 101 mayoverride the restriction in various ways (e.g., telephone call to a callcenter, text message with password) to verify his or her identity andcomplete the transaction. The authorization message provided by cardissuer 106 may eventually be routed back to merchant 103, as describedherein.

As indicated by arrow 111, card issuer 106 may provide the authorizationmessage to card association 105. As indicated by arrow 112, cardassociation 105 may provide the authorization message, or any otherauthorization data, to merchant processor 104. In various exemplaryembodiments, an entity may operate as both card association 105 and cardissuer 106. Merchant processor 104 in that situation may route theauthorization request to the combined entity and the combined entity mayprovide the authorization message to merchant processor 104. Also, cardassociation 105 itself may operate as card issuer 106, as describedherein. Merchant processor 104 in that situation may route theauthorization request to card association 105 and card association 105may determine whether any applicable authorizations or restrictions havebeen established and provide the authorization message to merchantprocessor 104.

As indicated by arrow 113, merchant processor 104 may provide theauthorization message, or any other authorization data, to merchant 103.If the transaction was denied, merchant 103 may deny the desiredtransaction and, for example, refuse to provide customer 101 with his orher desired goods or services. If the transaction was approved, merchant103 may complete the transaction by, for example, receiving thecustomer's written signature on a receipt, providing the desired goodsor services to customer 101, and/or storing information associated withthe transaction for later settlement. For example, merchant 103 maystore information electronically in a batch file or other storagemechanism.

Settlement Phase:

During the settlement phase, merchant 103 may receive payment for one ormore card transactions, such as purchases of goods and services thatmerchant 103 provided to its customers. In various exemplaryembodiments, merchant 103 may accumulate transactions until apredetermined threshold has been reached, such as, for example, apredetermined total amount or predetermined period of time (e.g., at theend of each business day), before proceeding with settlement. Merchant103 may store information associated with each transaction in one ormore batch files for later settlement at the predetermined time.

Merchant 103 may provide a batch file representing all of theaccumulated transactions to be settled at that time to merchantprocessor 104, as indicated by arrow 114. For example, a transmissionmay occur when a predetermined threshold is reached. Merchant processor104 may use the information in the batch file to create one or morebatch files each containing transactions associated with respective cardassociation 105. For example, merchant processor 104 may create a batchfile for all Visa® credit card transactions from a plurality ofmerchants and transmit that batch file to Visa® as card association 105.As indicated by arrow 115, merchant processor 104 may provide the batchfile to respective card association 105. Card association 105 may inturn use the batch file to create one or more batch files eachcontaining transactions associated with respective card issuer 106. Forexample, Visa® may create a batch file for all transactions involvingVisa® credit cards issued by a particular bank from a plurality ofmerchant processors and transmit that batch file to the bank as cardissuer 106. As indicated by arrow 116, card association 105 may providethe batch file to respective card issuer 106.

It should be recognized that although only one card association 105 andone card issuer 106 are shown in FIG. 1, merchant processor 104 mayprovide a plurality of batch files to a plurality of respective cardassociations and the plurality of card associations may provide aplurality of batch files to a plurality of respective card issuers, asdiscussed herein.

In various exemplary embodiments, card issuer 106 may again determinewhether customer 101 has requested any authorizations or restrictionsthat might apply to any of the pending transactions. For example,customer 101 may have made a request after authorization but beforesettlement. In various exemplary embodiments, if customer 101 requesteda restriction that would apply to a transaction currently designated forsettlement, card issuer 106 may respond by notifying merchant 103,merchant processor 104, and/or card association 105 that settlementcould not be completed and the reason(s) for the denial. If, however,there is no restriction that would apply to a transaction designated forsettlement, or customer 101 requested an authorization that would applyto the transaction, card issuer 106 may route funds for all transactionscontained in a respective batch file to respective card association 105,as indicated by arrow 117.

As indicated by arrow 118, card association 105 may relay the funds tomerchant processor 104 or, for example, combine them with any otherfunds before providing them to merchant processor 104. In variousexemplary embodiments, as indicated by arrow 119, merchant processor 104may route the funds to merchant 103 by, for example, depositing thefunds into an account held on behalf of merchant 103. For example,merchant processor 104 may route funds electronically via a funds filethrough the Automated Clearing House (ACH) Network. Also, card issuer106 and/or card association 105 may route funds for the associatedtransactions directly to an account held on behalf of merchant 103rather than routing the funds through the other entities depicted inFIG. 1.

Customer 101 may later pay card issuer 106 that holds his or her accountfor the transactions that customer 101 makes. For example, customer 101may pay a monthly bill to card issuer 106 and may choose to pay the fullamount or only a partial amount of the bill. Card issuer 106 may chargecustomer 101 interest on any unpaid portion of a bill.

In various exemplary embodiments, the entities described in reference tosystem 100, such as, for example, merchant processor 104, cardassociation 105, and card issuer 106, may charge various entities a feefor using their services. For example, card issuer 106 may chargecustomer 101 a fee for authorizing or restricting certain transactionsvia the user interface described herein. Also, merchant processor 104may charge merchant 103 a predetermined percentage for each transaction(e.g., 2%) and reduce the amount paid to merchant 103 accordingly.Merchant processor 104 may also, for example, pay card association 105and/or card issuer 106 for using their services (e.g., 1.4% interchangefee). Also, any of the entities described in reference to system 100 maycharge a fee to any other entity for communicating or routing fundsthrough the charging entity via a network.

FIGS. 2, 3, and 4 depict an exemplary user interface 200 for authorizingcard account transactions by geographic region according to variousembodiments of the disclosure. In various exemplary embodiments, userinterface 200 may be presented to the customer in the form of agraphical web page with interactive functionality such that the customermay view, select, move, and/or drag-and-drop particular items on thepage using a computer mouse to thereby instruct the card issuer whatgeographic regions, merchants, and merchant locations the customerdesires to authorize and restrict for any particular account. The userinterface 200 may comprise a title bar 201, a zoom control 202, anaccount information box 203, a map image 204, and an option selector205.

Account information box 203 may display information for the accountcurrently in use. An input mechanism, such as a drop-down menu orseparate window, may allow the customer to choose which account shouldbe displayed. Also, the customer may select among a family of cards eachassociated with a particular account identifier and thereby requestauthorizations and restrictions for specific cards (e.g., where a familyhas multiple cards for the same account).

Map image 204 may display an image of one or more geographic regions ata particular level of granularity, such as a street, neighborhood, zipcode, county, state, province, country, or continent. FIG. 2, forexample, displays an image of Europe at the continent level, while FIG.3 displays an image of the United States at the country level and FIG. 4displays an image of a particular neighborhood at the neighborhoodlevel. The customer may switch between the various views by clicking thecustomer's mouse on different levels or dragging a slider in zoomcontrol 202. The level of the current display may be shown by anemphasized bar in zoom control 202. The customer may also interactivelymove the map in various ways. For example, the customer may click his orher computer mouse on a particular portion of map image 204 and drag themouse to the left, which may interactively move map image 204 to theleft to view a previously unseen portion of the map.

Option selector 205 may be used to perform various functions associatedwith user interface 200. For example, the customer may click on the“Restrict” option and then click on a particular geographic region inmap image 204. The customer may also drag a “Restrict” icon from optionselector 205 to map image 204 and drop the icon onto a particulargeographic region. User interface 200 may also show an indication of thecurrently selected option, such as temporarily changing the mouse cursorto an “X,” for example, when the customer has selected the “Restrict”option. A similar process may be followed for the “Authorize” option.

Upon clicking on a particular geographic region or merchant location andselecting an option to restrict or authorize transactions, userinterface 200 may display a popup, separate window, or other inputmechanism whereby the customer may input parameters for the restrictionor authorization, such as starting and ending dates, transaction types,or transaction amounts, as described herein. User interface 200 mayreceive such input (e.g., mouse input, keyboard input) from the customerand cause it to be provided electronically to the card issuer or otherentity that provides user interface 200.

User interface 200 may also display geographic regions where thecustomer has authorized transactions using his or her account to takeplace, as well as geographic regions where the customer desirestransactions to be restricted. For example, authorized regions may bedisplayed in a different color than restricted regions. Geographicregions where individual merchant locations have been authorized orrestricted may also be displayed in yet another color or with adifferent indication. As depicted in FIG. 2, map image 204 shows threeselected countries that the customer may have selected for restriction:Ireland, Portugal, and Switzerland. As depicted in FIG. 3, map image 204shows four selected states that may have been selected for restriction:North Dakota, Oklahoma, Michigan, and Maine.

At a lower level in zoom control 202, such as the neighborhood leveldepicted in map image 204 in FIG. 4, user interface 200 may displaystreets and merchant locations, as well as landmarks like landmark 404that allow the customer to easily recognize a particular geographicregion (e.g., the customer's home neighborhood). For example, street 401labeled “Main Street” may be an accurate representation of the actualMain Street in a particular neighborhood. As described herein, the cardissuer may build map image 204 by compiling a database of possiblemerchant locations and associating them with cartographic information.The merchant locations may be displayed, for example, as either arestricted merchant location indicator 402 with an “X” square or anauthorized merchant location indicator 403 with a blank square so thatthe customer may be able to easily tell which merchant locations he orshe has authorized and which merchant locations he or she hasrestricted. Also, by displaying all possible merchant locations wherethe customer may use his or her card, the card issuer provides valuableinformation to the customer, which may encourage the customer to shop atthose locations. In some cases, map image 204 may display many merchantlocations at the same time, such as in shopping center 406.

To further assist the customer in finding a particular named merchantlocation in map image 204, a popup may be displayed for each merchantlocation whenever the customer clicks on or moves his or her mousepointer over the respective indicator. When the customer clicks onauthorized merchant location indicator 407, for example, popup 405 mayappear and display information about the merchant location “ABC Store”at “11 Main St.,” such as a name, address, phone number, web sitehyperlink, and statement regarding what restrictions have been placed onthe merchant location (if any). If the “ABC Store” at “11 Main St.” hada restriction placed on it by the customer, the parameters of thatrestriction may be displayed in popup 405. A popup may also contain aninput field where the customer may input any parameters for restrictionor authorization, such as starting and ending dates, transaction types,or transaction amounts, as described herein.

User interface 200 may also allow the customer to authorize or restricttransactions with a merchant (e.g., Wal-Mart®) at all locations for thatmerchant. For example, when the customer clicks on one location for therespective merchant, a popup may ask the customer if he or she wants torestrict all locations or just the selected location. Also, userinterface 200 may provide a link to a separate web page for enteringinformation for authorizing or restricting all transactions with amerchant, for example.

User interface 200 may also display a movement control 206 at the leveldepicted in FIG. 4, which may be selected with the computer mouse ormoved in different directions to make map image 204 move interactively.Movement control 206 may make user interface 200 easier to navigate atthe lowest levels of granularity.

User interface 200 may also allow the customer to set alerts for certainevents, which may be specified by either the customer, the card issuerproviding user interface 200, or another entity. For example, thecustomer may click on the “Set Alerts” option in option selector 205,which may open a drop-down menu on user interface 200 or open a separatewindow where the user may choose a particular type of alert. Forexample, the customer may choose to receive an e-mail whenever atransaction at a particular merchant location is attempted and denied,or the customer may choose to receive an alert whenever a transaction iscompleted in a specific geographic region. Also, the customer may wantthe card issuer to notify the appropriate authorities whenever atransaction is denied as restricted. It will be recognized by those ofskill in the art that alerts may be made in any number of ways,including, for example, a telephone message, fax message, e-mail, textmessage, or instant message, and may be sent to the customer or to anyother individual or entity. Also, a card issuer 106 may alert a customerwho is not registered to use user interface 200 when an unusual chargeis made on the customer's account and provide a mechanism for thecustomer to access user interface 200 and prohibit such transactions inthe future.

In various exemplary embodiments, the customer may also be alertedwhenever he or she enters a geographic region or arrives at a merchantlocation that has an existing authorization or restriction. It will beunderstood that there may be many ways in which the customer's currentphysical location may be determined, such as, for example, GlobalPositioning Systems (GPS) and SIM cards in wireless/mobile devices. Forexample, the customer may have restricted transactions in New York Citybut later forgotten to deactivate the restriction when he or shetraveled there; the customer may then be alerted (e.g., on his or herwireless/mobile device) before he or she attempts to make a purchase.Likewise, a customer may provide his or her current physical location toa card issuer via a wireless/mobile device to authorize or restricttransactions in that geographic region.

User interface 200 may also link to other systems to allow a customeradded functionality. For example, a customer may decide to restricttransactions at a particular merchant location because of pastfraudulent charges at that location. User interface 200 may then providea link to another user interface or system where the customer maydispute the charge and/or alert his or her card issuer to the problem.Also, a customer may be offered additional products through userinterface 200, such as credit accounts or loans, based on the customer's“default” home region (e.g., state, zip code), geographic region inwhich the customer regularly does business, or current authorizationsand restrictions. In that way, the customer may receive an enhancedexperience interacting with user interface 200.

In various exemplary embodiments, user interface 200 may also allow thecustomer to exit user interface 200 by, for example, clicking the“Logout” option in option selector 205. User interface 205 may then, forexample, redirect the user's web browser to another web page and deleteinformation associated with the customer from the customer's computer toensure the customer's security.

It will also be understood that user interface 200 need not be agraphical user interface and may comprise any mechanism forcommunicating with and receiving input information from a customer. Forexample, user interface 200 may be a Voice Response Unit (“VRU”) forinteractive voice response where a customer may provide zip codegeographic regions by typing numbers on a keypad or may select among aset of merchant locations by selecting a numerical choice on a keypad.

FIG. 5 depicts an exemplary database table for use in authorizing cardaccount transactions by geographic region according to variousembodiments of the disclosure. In reference to FIG. 5, the card issuermay have received a request to restrict transactions in a particulargeographic region or at a particular merchant or merchant location andpopulated an authorization and restriction table 500, which may bestored electronically in a database. The card issuer may later refer toauthorization and restriction table 500 to determine whether a desiredtransaction should be allowed or denied during the authorization and/orsettlement phases of a pending transaction, as described herein.Authorization and restriction table 500 may comprise entries 516-519 forparticular customer requests, wherein each is given an entry number 501.For example, entry 516 may correspond to a request by the customer “JohnDoe.” Each entry may comprise information associated with a particularrequest and the customer making the request, such as customer name 502,customer address 503, customer phone number 504, customer e-mail address505, customer region identifier 506, account type 507, account number508, expiration date 509, card association 510, status 511 (e.g.,“Restricted” or “Allowed”), region identifier 512 for a restricted orauthorized geographic region (if the request is related to a particulargeographic region), merchant identifier 513 for a restricted orauthorized merchant or merchant location (if the request is related to aparticular merchant or merchant location), begin time 514 for beginningthe restriction or authorization, end time 515 for ending therestriction or authorization, and instructions 516 for performing therestriction or authorization. As described herein, when a customer makesa restriction request, an existing entry may be changed from“Authorized” to “Restricted” status, or, if there is no current entryrelating to the chosen geographic region or merchant location and the“default” status is “Authorized,” a new entry may be created with“Restricted” status. A similar process may also be performed forauthorizations, vice versa. The status of a particular geographic regionor merchant location if no corresponding entry is present may be assumedaccording to the “default” setting currently in effect.

Regional identifier 511 may correspond to a specific geographic region,such as a street, neighborhood, zip code, county, state, province,country, or continent, in a hierarchical fashion such that multiplestreets may be within one neighborhood, multiple neighborhoods may bewithin one zip code, multiple zip codes may be within one county, etc.It will be recognized by those of skill in the art that there may bemany ways to organize data hierarchically in a database or other storagemechanism. Merchant identifier 512 may likewise correspond to multipleitems of information, such as a specific merchant or merchant location,as well as a particular regional identifier where that merchant locationis situated. Separate databases may also be maintained for authorizationrequests and restriction requests, respectively.

When an incoming transaction is submitted for authorization, the cardissuer may attempt to match the account number used for the transactionto an account number stored in authorization and restriction table 500.If one or more matches are found, the card issuer may determine whetherthe restriction(s) in the table prohibit the desired transaction (e.g.,if a geographic region where the transaction is being attemptedcorresponds to a “restricted” geographic region database entry). If so,the card issuer may deny the transaction. If not, the card issuer mayallow the transaction. Likewise, if no matches are found, the cardissuer may allow the transaction. It will also be recognized thatinformation associated with a customer request for authorization orrestriction may be stored in any storage mechanism with any amount offields or types of fields, not just the table in an electronic databasedescribed in reference to FIG. 5.

FIG. 6 depicts an exemplary flow chart 600 which illustrates anexemplary method for authorizing card account transactions by geographicregion according to various embodiments of the disclosure. At block 601,a customer may establish an account, such as a credit account, with acard issuer and receive a corresponding card to be used in makingpurchases and conducting other financial transactions. At block 602, thecard issuer may receive address information for a plurality of merchantlocations from a supplying entity, such as a card association ormerchant processor, as described herein. The card issuer may use theaddress information to populate a database of potential merchants andmerchant locations where the customer may use his or her card. Asdescribed herein, the card issuer may also generate a set of map imagesfrom cartographic information for geographic regions throughout theworld (or which may be supplied by any information provider) andintegrate the potential merchant locations for later displaying in auser interface, as described herein.

At block 603, the card issuer may receive login information for aparticular customer and/or account. For example, a customer may enter auser name and password on a secure web page to gain access to the cardissuer's system and then enter an account identifier associated with anaccount for which the customer desires to make a request. At block 604,the card issuer may retrieve account information for the customer'saccount, such as account type, balance, and current authorizations andrestrictions for the account. At block 605, the card issuer may retrievea set of map images for geographic regions that the customer may wish toview and generate a user interface comprising those maps with integratedmerchant location indicators, as described in reference to FIGS. 2, 3,and 4. The card issuer may then provide the user interface to thecustomer at block 606 by, for example, transmitting data for generatinga web page on a web browser. At block 607, the card issuer may receive arequest submitted by the user for a particular restriction orauthorization. For example, the customer may request that alltransactions with merchants in Europe be denied. The card issuer maythen at block 608 update a table, such as authorization and restrictiontable 500 in FIG. 5, by changing status information according to thereceived request (e.g., to “authorized” or “restricted”).

At block 609, the card issuer may at some point in time receive anauthorization request for a particular transaction involving thecustomer's account. For example, someone may have attempted to use thecustomer's card in Europe to purchase a particular item or withdrawmoney at an ATM. If the customer previously submitted a request torestrict all transactions in Europe, however, the transaction may bedenied. At block 610, the card issuer may verify that the attemptedtransaction is in an allowed geographic region (e.g., whether it is inan “allowed” or “restricted” geographic region at various hierarchicallevels). If not, the card issuer may deny the transaction at block 612and alert the user (or, for example, the authorities or a fraud alertservice) of the potentially fraudulent activity at block 613. If therewas no restriction placed on the geographic region where the attemptedtransaction took place, however, the card issuer may at block 611proceed to determine if the transaction was initiated at an allowedmerchant location (e.g., whether it is at an “allowed” or “restricted”merchant location). If not, the card issuer may likewise deny thetransaction at block 612 and alert the user accordingly at block 613. Ifthere was no restriction placed on the merchant location where theattempted transaction took place, however, the card issuer may authorizethe transaction at block 612 by, for example, providing an authorizationmessage to a card association, as described herein, and alert the userthat the transaction succeeded at block 613 (if the user has chosen toreceive such alerts). The card issuer may then proceed to wait for thenext transaction authorization request at block 609.

FIG. 7 depicts an exemplary system for authorizing card accounttransactions by geographic region according to various embodiments ofthe disclosure. Card issuer 106 may include one or more of the followingmodules: a communication module 703, an interface module 704, aprocessing module 705, a user interface communication module 707, anadjustment module 708, a transaction processing module 709, anauthorization module 710, an address information receipt module 711, anda database module 712. One or more of the modules may electronicallycommunicate with each other and/or other entities, such as, for example,merchant processor 104, merchant 103, customer 101, card association105, or any other entity over an external network 701, via acommunication mechanism 702, such as a data communication bus or one ormore networks as defined herein. The modules may also communicate with astorage mechanism 706, as described herein. The modules described inreference to FIG. 7 may each be an appropriately programmed computer,such as a mainframe or personal computer, or may include a plurality ofsuch computers cooperating to perform the functionality describedherein.

Address information receipt module 711 may receive address informationfor merchant locations (e.g., names, addresses, geographic regions), asdescribed herein. Database module 712 may then use that information,along with cartographic information, to populate a database in storagemechanism 706, as described herein. Communication module 703 may receiveaccount information associated with a card account held by a user, suchas an account number, for example. Interface module 704 may provide datafor a user interface, such as the user interface depicted in FIGS. 2, 3,and 4. Interface module 704 may retrieve and/or generate such data fromdata stored in storage mechanism 708, such as address information formerchant locations, cartographic information, and/or tables like thetable depicted in FIG. 5, for example. Processing module 705 may thendetermine a status for any particular geographic regions or merchantlocations (e.g., authorized, restricted, or no status, which mayindicate either authorized or restricted depending on a default setting,as described herein).

User interface communication module 707 may receive a user interfaceselection representing a request to authorize or restrict transactionsin a selected geographic region or at a selected merchant location. Thecustomer may select such a geographic region or merchant location byinteracting with the user interface in the various ways described hereinand may also select parameters for authorization or restriction (e.g.,starting and ending dates, transaction types, or transaction amounts).Adjustment module 708 may then adjust the status of a selectedgeographic region or merchant location (e.g., to “authorized” or“restricted” and set parameters) stored in the storage mechanism 706,for example. Transaction processing module 709 may receive authorizationrequests for desired transactions using the card account. If a desiredtransaction corresponds to a restriction for the account, authorizationmodule 710 may deny the attempted transaction. If a desired transactiondoes not correspond to any restriction, or corresponds to anauthorization, authorization module 710 may allow the attemptedtransaction. For example, authorization module 710 may provide anauthorization message to various entities involved in authorizationand/or settlement of financial transactions, as described herein.

The present invention provides added security for customers who use cardaccounts, particularly those who use card accounts regularly and maytherefore be more susceptible to identity theft. For example, byprohibiting transactions in geographic regions or at merchant locationswhere the customer knows he or she will never transact business, thepotential for fraudulent use of the customer's account may besignificantly reduced. The customer may also avoid paying for fraudulentcharges that he or she may otherwise be forced to pay when an identitythief uses his or her card illegally. In that way, the customer may feela sense of added security knowing that unauthorized transactions willnot occur (or are at least much more unlikely). Law enforcement may alsobenefit by being notified of fraudulent charges when a particulartransaction is denied due to a customer-provided restriction.

By offering customers such added protection, the present invention alsoencourages loyalty to the entity that allows its customers to authorizeand restrict particular transactions. For example, a card issuer maygive its customers a significant advantage over other providers that donot allow the same functionality and thereby encourage its customers toopen more accounts at the card issuer, which may increase the cardissuer's business. A card issuer may also avoid charges associated withpaying for fraudulent usage of its customer's card accounts and may passalong those cost savings to its customers and thereby generate morebusiness.

The embodiments of the present invention are not to be limited in scopeby the specific embodiments described herein. For example, the userinterface may be in any format, including a VRU interface. Or, the userinterface may display any image or combination of images. Or, addressesof potential merchant locations may be obtained from any entitypossessing that information, including a card association, merchantprocessor, or individual merchants themselves. Or, address informationmay be collected in any storage mechanism and combined with cartographicinformation obtained from any source. Or, information regarding acustomer's authorizations and restrictions may be provided to any entityupon receipt, at the time of an authorized or restricted transaction,periodically in batches, or in any other time interval. Or, anauthorization request, authorization message, and batch files createdand provided in the course of a transaction may be in any form to permitauthorization and settlement of a transaction. Or, the merchant may belocated remotely from the customer and accessible to the customer via,for example, the telephone or one or more networks. Or, the system forauthorizing card account transactions by geographic region may be acollection of more than one computer, each operating collectively as thesystem. Or, the system may be automated such that authorizing cardaccount transactions by geographic region does not require interactionwith an operator or a user.

Thus, such modifications are intended to fall within the scope of thefollowing appended claims. Further, although some of the embodiments ofthe present invention have been described herein in the context of aparticular implementation in a particular environment for a particularpurpose, those of ordinary skill in the art should recognize that itsusefulness is not limited thereto and that the embodiments of thepresent invention can be beneficially implemented in any number ofenvironments for any number of purposes. Accordingly, the claims setforth below should be construed in view of the full breadth and spiritof the embodiments of the present invention as disclosed herein. Whilethe foregoing description includes many details and specificities, it isto be understood that these have been included for purposes ofexplanation only, and are not to be interpreted as limitations of theinvention. Many modifications to the embodiments described above can bemade without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A method for authorizing card accounttransactions by geographic region comprising: receiving accountinformation associated with a card account held by a user; providingdata for a user interface, the user interface operable to display aplurality of geographic regions and a plurality of merchant locations,each merchant location corresponding to the location of a merchant wherea transaction using the card account may be initiated; determining anauthorization status for each of the plurality of geographic regions andplurality of merchant locations; receiving a user interface selectionrepresenting a request to adjust the authorization status for a selectedgeographic region or selected merchant location; adjusting theauthorization status for the selected geographic region or selectedmerchant location; receiving an authorization request for a desiredtransaction using the card account; providing authorization informationfor the desired transaction in accordance with the adjustedauthorization status; providing alert information in accordance with theadjusted authorization status, wherein the alert information comprises anotification of the adjusted authorization status.
 2. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the authorization status is adjusted to restricted ifthe authorization status was allowed prior to the adjustment.
 3. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the authorization status is adjusted toallowed if the authorization status was restricted prior to theadjustment.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the user interfacedisplays the plurality of geographic regions at the street,neighborhood, zip code, county, state, province, country, or continentlevel.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein each of the plurality ofmerchant locations further corresponds to the location of a merchantwith which a transaction using the card account has previously beenperformed.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein the request is to adjustthe authorization status for the selected merchant location torestricted for card account transactions above a specified dollar amountat the selected merchant location.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein therequest is to adjust the authorization status for the selected merchantlocation to restricted for card account transactions initiated during aspecified time period at the selected merchant location.
 8. The methodof claim 1, wherein the request is to adjust the authorization statusfor the selected merchant location to restricted for card accounttransactions initiated by a specified user at the selected merchantlocation.
 9. The method of claim 1, wherein a plurality of cards areassociated with the card account and the request is to adjust theauthorization status for the selected merchant location to restrictedfor card account transactions initiated using one of the plurality ofcards.
 10. The method of claim 1, further comprising: modifying the userinterface in accordance with the user interface selection to display thegeographic regions and merchant locations for which the correspondingauthorization status is authorized and the geographic regions andmerchant locations for which the corresponding authorization status isrestricted.
 11. The method of claim 1, further comprising: receivingaddress information for the plurality of merchant locations; and storingcartographic information and the received address information in adatabase for generating the user interface.
 12. The method of claim 1,wherein the user interface is displayed on a web page, mobile devicescreen, automated teller machine, or branch terminal.
 13. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the alert information further comprises an alert toinform the user when the user has entered a location of a particularauthorization status, the authorization status comprising at least oneof: authorized and restricted.
 14. The method of claim 1, wherein thealert information further comprises a notification of deniedauthorization sent to the user.
 15. A system for authorizing cardaccount transactions by geographic region comprising: a communicationmodule operable to receive account information associated with a cardaccount held by a user; an interface module operable to provide data fora user interface, the user interface operable to display a plurality ofgeographic regions and a plurality of merchant locations, each merchantlocation corresponding to the location of a merchant where a transactionusing the card account may be initiated; a processing module operable todetermine an authorization status for each of the plurality ofgeographic regions and plurality of merchant locations; a user interfacecommunication module operable to receive a user interface selectionrepresenting a request to adjust the authorization status for a selectedgeographic region or selected merchant location; an adjustment moduleoperable to adjust the authorization status for the selected geographicregion or selected merchant location; a transaction processing moduleoperable to receive an authorization request for a desired transactionusing the card account; an authorization module operable to provideauthorization information for the desired transaction in accordance withthe adjusted authorization status; and an alert module operable toprovide alert information in accordance with the adjusted authorizationstatus, wherein the alert information comprises a notification of theadjusted authorization status.
 16. The system of claim 15, wherein theauthorization status is adjusted to restricted if the authorizationstatus was allowed prior to the adjustment.
 17. The system of claim 15,wherein the authorization status is adjusted to allowed if theauthorization status was restricted prior to the adjustment.
 18. Thesystem of claim 15, wherein the user interface displays the plurality ofgeographic regions at the street, neighborhood, zip code, county, state,province, country, or continent level.
 19. The system of claim 15,wherein each of the plurality of merchant locations further correspondsto the location of a merchant with which a transaction using the cardaccount has previously been performed.
 20. The system of claim 15,wherein the request is to adjust the authorization status for theselected merchant location to restricted for card account transactionsabove a specified dollar amount at the selected merchant location. 21.The system of claim 15, wherein the request is to adjust theauthorization status for the selected merchant location to restrictedfor card account transactions initiated during a specified time periodat the selected merchant location.
 22. The system of claim 15, whereinthe alert information further comprises an alert to inform the user whenthe user has entered a location of a particular authorization status,the authorization status comprising at least one of: authorized andrestricted.
 23. The system of claim 15, wherein the alert informationfurther comprises a notification of denied authorization sent to theuser.
 24. The system of claim 15, wherein the alert information furthercomprises a notification of the adjusted authorization status.
 25. Acomputer-accessible medium encoded with computer program code effectiveto perform the following: receive account information associated with acard account held by a user; provide data for a user interface, the userinterface operable to display a plurality of geographic regions and aplurality of merchant locations, each merchant location corresponding tothe location of a merchant where a transaction using the card accountmay be initiated; determine an authorization status for each of theplurality of geographic regions and plurality of merchant locations;receive a user interface selection representing a request to adjust theauthorization status for a selected geographic region or selectedmerchant location; adjust the authorization status for the selectedgeographic region or selected merchant location; receive anauthorization request for a desired transaction using the card account;provide authorization information for the desired transaction inaccordance with the adjusted authorization status; and provide alertinformation in accordance with the adjusted authorization status,wherein the alert information comprises a notification of the adjustedauthorization status.